Remembered in Bronze and Stone

Remembered in Bronze and Stone: Canada’s Great War Memorial Statuary
by Alan Livingstone MacLeod
Heritage House
192 pages, $24.95

They’re found in almost every town, village, and city across the country. Most of us pass them by, never paying much mention except for once a year, on November 11, when some of us brave the fall chill to stand at attention and remember the sacrifices of our war dead.

War memorials sprang up across Canada in the wake of the Great War. And, after the Second World War, more names were etched into stone and metal as a way to make timeless the memory of those who had served and died.

In Remembered in Bronze and Stone, Alan Livingstone MacLeod presents a remarkable look at the many ways we honoured our war dead, and he explores the symbolism found in these often lonely monuments. The book is the result of a cross-country trip MacLeod and his wife, Janice, undertook to visit as many war memorials as they could. Their journey was inspired by family stories of MacLeod’s great-uncle, who fought in the First World War.

Dozens of colour photographs finely illustrate the meticulous care and craftsmanship that went into sculpting these memorials. Long after the two world wars, they remain standing as a reminders of the true human cost of war.

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